1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus wherein an original carrying an image is fed and the image is recorded on a recording medium.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, in order to reduce the storing space for storing a large number of documents such as chits or slips, the image information on such documents has been stored in microfilms, optical discs, magnetic discs or the like. However, in order to permit the easy retrieval or search (referred to generically as "search" hereinafter) of such information later, it was necessary to input index information (referred to as "index" hereinafter) corresponding to such image information, and it took a long time to input such an index.
As one of means for solving the above problem, an information reading apparatus has been proposed wherein code information such as a bar code is applied to each of the documents, and the code information is read by a reading mechanism such as a bar code scanner, MICR, OCR and the like and at the same time the image information carried by the document is taken or recorded, thus performing the image recording. Such information recording apparatus is shown in FIG. 7.
In this conventional information reading apparatus, originals 100 such as slips (onto each of which a bar code as an index is applied) are fed one by one by a conveying means comprising rollers 101, 102, 103 and a belt 104 toward an ejector tray 108, and the bar code on the original is read by a bar code scanner 105 and the image on the original 100 is photographed by a camera 107 in a taking station 106. The read bar code is inputted to a computer for preparing an easy and positive search in the future.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, if plural originals 100 are fed simultaneously (referred to as "double-feeding" hereinafter) without being separated from each other, the bar code scanner 105 can merely read the bar code of the uppermost original 100 among the double-fed originals and cannot read the bar codes of the other originals. Further, since the originals are photographed by the camera 107 in the double-fed condition, the originals 100 other than the uppermost originals cannot be photographing. In addition, when photo-taking, since the camera is designed to focus on the image of a single original, the image on the uppermost original of the double-fed originals will be out of focus with respect to the camera, with the result that the image photographed by the camera will be indistinct.
Furthermore, if plural originals 100 are fed while being overlapped largely or partially (referred to as "overlap-feeding" hereinafter) without being completely separated from each other, only the bar code of the first or uppermost original will be read and only the image of the first original will be photographed, while the second and other originals will be merely fed without reading the bar codes thereof and photographing the images thereof.
Accordingly, the above-mentioned conventional apparatus has drawbacks that the cost of the recording is increased due to the useless reading (of the bar code) and photographing (of the image) and that, since the correctly read and photographed originals and the incorrectly read and incorrectly photographed (or non-read and non-taken) originals are intermixed due to the double-feeding and/or overlap-feeding, the later sorting operation will be troublesome.
If it is attempted to detect the abnormal conveying of the originals caused by the double-feeding and/or overlap-feeding the normally or correctly fed originals can be sorted from the abnormally fed originals and ejected independently of the latter. In this case, however, since it is necessary to determine a reference value for comparing the normally fed originals with the abnormally fed originals, if any originals having a value different from the reference value are used, all of such fed originals will be judged as abnormally fed originals. Accordingly, this attempt merely uses the exclusive original, and, thus, has less freedom and cannot be of practical use.
Further, the reading of the bar codes of not only the correctly fed originals (referred to as "normal original" hereinafter) but also the abnormally or incorrectly fed originals (referred to as "abnormal original" hereinafter) due to the double-feeding and/or the overlap-feeding excessively consumes electric power for the operation of the apparatus and increases the load an the reading means (such as a laser) due to the useless reading, thus shortening the service life of the reading means and accordingly hastening the replacement of the worn parts, which leads to increased cost.